Fay Weldon

Fay Weldon

Tuesday 22 July 2008 10.39 EDT
First published on Tuesday 22 July 2008 10.39 EDT

1933-

"It seemed to me when I wrote Life And Loves Of A She-Devil that women were so much in the habit of being good it would do nobody any harm if they learned to be a little bad - that is to say, burn down their houses, give away their children, put their husband in prison, steal his money and turn themselves into their husband's mistress."

Education

Other jobs

Did you know?

Weldon was responsible for the 1970s ad slogan "Go to work on an egg.

Critical verdict

Weldon's tragicomic novels deal with women's troubled relationships with parents, men, children and other women; in the late 60s she became the voice of rising feminist consciousness in the UK (Weldon grew up with her grandmother, mother and sister, and believed the world was "peopled by females"). Even in her darkest novels, the dry humour never fails to raise a smile (although she is far more effective when playing it for laughs, as in the excellent Puffball); in recent years she has emerged as an unlikely champion of men's rights.